“10 little things add up to a lot”
DEFENSIVE ZONE – 10 LITTLE THINGS TO REMEMBER
- No more than 30 seconds on the ice, all out and off – if you are not tired by then you are not skating or fighting for the puck hard enough or finishing the check – don’t change when the puck is in our zone or about to go into our zone
- Forwards get back into the defensive zone and assume defensive responsibilities as quickly as possible down low to protect the house
- Physically cover their player in front of our net, shoulder to shoulder, staying between him and our goalie – if he moves around in front of our net, go with him, and let our goalie see shots
- When the puck comes to their player in front, lift his stick off the ice as it reaches his stick
- Be first in the corners or along the boards, be very physical, win the puck everywhere by lifting their sticks and bodychecking, do not hesitate, and freeze the puck if you are in trouble
- Shoot the puck out of our zone hard off the glass or boards if there is not an easy, safe pass, do not try to stickhandle in our own zone – no soft passes and stay off the backhand pass as much as possible
- If there is a rebound or if the puck is in front of our net, and if shooting the puck out is too risky or blocked, knock the puck into our corner and go get it and freeze it– no soft passes forward or to their points
- Don’t let their player get by you with the puck, run into him and lift his stick off the ice, finishing the check
- Pass the puck opposite to their players’ forechecking flow in our zone most times and behind our net to our winger at the hash marks or to our defenceman in our corner if he is open, and you are pressed in the other corner, or to our centre in front if he is wide open
- If a winger gets the puck on the boards at the hash marks, make a safe pass to the centre or the other winger going up ice, chip the puck by the defenceman at the blue line or along the boards if he is pinching, or shoot the puck out off the glass or up the middle between their two defencemen